My body looks better than ever!

Julie, 38 years old

Kelvin is an awesome trainer! The bootcamp workout regimen is always challenging and he pushes me to the limit every time (which is great)! He keeps the workouts fun and teaches the benefits of each exercise and how my body will benefit.

I have been getting my butt kicked by Kelvin every week for sixteen months and my body looks better than ever!

Restoring my vitality to a level I have not known for many years

Jacque

I have always believed that there is no better investment a person can make than in their own health. But when I first began working with Kelvin Thomas a year ago, I warned him that he was in for the challenge of his career. I had never worked with weights or any kind of fitness machines, preferring instead to get my exercise outdoors through tennis or running. Unfortunately, over the years it has become all too clear that that was not enough to produce the kind of strength and overall fitness that a demanding sport like tennis requires if you want to perform at your optimum level. As my husband observed when he signed me up for my first series of personal training sessions, “Jacque, you don’t need to hit more tennis balls, you need to work on your fitness.”

I realize that I have only just begun the process, but Kelvin has somehow managed to turn me into a true believer. His thoughtful development of a program designed specifically for me and his cheerful, supportive, yet demanding approach to training has
kept me motivated and inspired. His patient guidance and instruction has allowed me to grow comfortable with the wide range of exercise equipment available to us at Silver Lake, and I now enjoy working out on my own there several times a week in addition to my continuing regular sessions with Kelvin.

Personal training with Kelvin, combined with participation in group programs such as “Boot Camp”, has not only improved my tennis, it has enhanced the overall quality of my life by restoring my vitality to a level I have not known for many years.

Thanks to you, Kelvin, and to Columbia Athletic Club for providing the facilities and staff that I am confident will ultimately enable me to achieve my fitness goals.

I found out what a real personal trainer can do for you

Maria

I’ve taken classes, belonged to gyms, and had a variety of fitness specialists, but it wasn’t until I started working with Kelvin Thomas that I found out what a real personal trainer can do for you. Since then, I’ve made gradual and steady progress. Despite being a retiree, I can work long hours on my current job and tackle physical activities with more vigor and vitality than I had when I was younger. I can honestly credit Kelvin with helping me achieve that.

I went from couch potato to half-marathon runner thanks to Kelvin

Cindy

Being the 2nd highest winner in the 30 year history of Wheel of Fortune was one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me. I never would have had the confidence to try out if it hadn’t been for Kelvin helping me turn my life around! A few years ago, I went from couch potato to half-marathon runner thanks to Kelvin. He helped me see myself as an athlete, which also served to boost my self-confidence in other areas of my life. It isn’t easy to make such dramatic changes when you are in your mid-50’s, but Kelvin gave me the encouragement and pushed me to try things I never would have tried on my own. I still run a couple of times a week and do a lot of yoga. I love how I feel and cannot thank Kelvin enough for all of his help.

WOW has it made a difference!!!

Duane

Webster’s dictionary defines Kelvin as an absolute temperature scale. 373 Degrees Kelvin is the absolute in fitness! I have been working with Kelvin for a year and WOW has it made a difference!!! It doesn’t matter what age or ability’s are, Kelvin works with you to find the best balance of exercise for your body. My workouts with him has prepared me for skiing so well that I am skiing at the intensity that I did in my 20’s and I am 43 now!! I skied 7 days in a row last year in Utah and Tahoe and logged over 120,000 vertical feet. There is no way I could have done this without Kelvin’s help!!

Kelvin is the Absolute Best!!!

The effort to being fit is definitely worthwhile

Dawn

Have you ever been in the middle of your workout and asked yourself, why am I doing this? What am I going to get out this? What is my motivation? Who cares if I look great?

Well, unless you have a fitness goal in mind you might be the person asking these questions. This is the downfall of many people who start and stop fitness programs. They will come in and do a little of this and a little of that, without a purpose. No wonder they quit. Without a goal or a purpose for your training, you are spinning your wheels in most cases.

Your fitness routine should support your lifestyle. If you are a tri-athlete, your routine should prepare you for swimming, biking and running. If you are a tri-athlete and work in construction, you would want to consider additional strength training to help support the rigorous labor of construction work.

If you are a person that is very active at home doing yard work, building projects, painting Etc., your fitness routine should support the rigors of those activities… If you are the Weekend Warrior; skiing, biking, hiking, skater, skydiving, rock climber…. you get my drift…. you have to prepare your body. Have you ever thought, “Man, I’m feeling like I’m in great shape, and then gone out and did something out of your ordinary routine and woke up the next day going, “WOW does my body hurt!” You know what I’m talking about. Start with purpose and train from there. Keep your fitness goals in mind. You will need to consider how much time you have to commit to fitness and how much time it takes to support your “purpose”. Be realistic. Write out your routine so you can make comparisons between workouts from one date to the next. Seeing your progress on paper can be very motivating.

Below is the story of Officer Dawn. She didn’t understand her fitness purpose until her body was asked to perform.

Dawn’s Story:
“I’ve been a police officer for almost 30 years and work out regularly six days a week; most weeks. Sometimes I have wondered what this is doing for me. I do cardio and weights. The other day I had to chase down some burglars; go over some fences, do quite a bit of running, and when I finished, I got to thinking, I wasn’t even out of breath, I wasn’t tired, I had no trouble with my running. I even passed up some of the other “younger” guys. I finally figured out that all this working out really does do something for me, for my everyday activities even. Chasing burglars, lifting things, jumping, running… It made a big difference, and I realized when I had to use it, it was there for me, and that the effort to being fit is definitely worthwhile.”

Kelvin explained “weight” and “fat” are two completely different things

Niko

Real Expectations: I have always been physically active, playing both soccer and rugby in college. I always have had weight problems, and could never understand why. It wasn’t until my senior year in college that my weight really got out of control. College food didn’t help; I swear all of the food was deep fried! When I wasn’t eating college food, I was snacking at Jack in the Box, or some other cheap quick restaurant. At the time, if I had been asked about my diet, I would have told you that I ate pretty healthy. It’s amazing how we can justify the way we eat. I found it easy to talk myself into thinking that my diet was fine, and that I was healthy.

At the time, I would have told you that I was eating 2000 calories a day on average when in fact; I was averaging close to 4000. My weight slowly crept up on me, and I found myself readjusting what I considered my acceptable weight. I first told myself that I would never weigh over 220lbs. When I hit 220lbs, I decided that 225lbs wouldn’t be too bad. I had developed this trend that allowed me to justify the weight I was gaining.

This attitude was the downfall to my health, appearance, and self confidence. I came back home from college weighing 252 lbs and really out of shape. The funny thing is that I still thought I wasn’t “that” overweight. The media has such a huge effect on us, that I actually believed the commercials claiming that you could lose 50lbs in 12 weeks.

I began training with my Uncle Shawn and our trainer Kelvin in April 2007. The first thing that was pointed out to me was just how terrible my diet was. My idea of healthy wasn’t even close to what I had thought. I remember thinking “A slice of pizza can be over 500 calories?” I remember having a conversation with Kelvin about my expectations. I told him that I thought I would have six pack abs in 3 months. Kelvin, politely told methat maybe I should re-evaluate my goals. We worked out 5 days a week 2-3 hour workouts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 1-2 Hour workouts Tuesday and Thursday. We worked out without missing a day and our diets were near perfect. I dropped weight, but not as fast as I had expected. Even with the huge amount of exercise we were doing! In the first 6 months I lost 8-10% body fat, roughly 25-30 lbs. But still No six pack. It was funny to step on the scale and see that I had lost 30 lbs, then look in the mirror and still see a fat little Butterball. I realized that all the hard work and dieting in the world could not give me a six pack in the time I had originally thought. “But the TV ads said I could,” total BULL!

Let’s be realistic for a second…How could I expect to fix ten plus years of unhealthy living, and eating in a matter of months? The answer is you can’t. I continued to lose weight until I hit the 215lb mark. It was at this weight that I hit a plateau. It was like no matter how clean my diet was, and how much I worked out I couldn’t lose any more weight. Kelvin explained that “weight” and “fat” are two completely different things.

This was the most important bit of advice that he could have given me. Who cares what my overall weight is, as long as my pants are fitting looser, and I am seeing more definition in my appearance.

It’s now almost 2 years later, I currently weigh around 207lbs and around 15% body fat.

My diet has been clean; my exercise routine has been flawless and intense. However, I now realize that getting a six pack is more than a couple months effort. It’s more than just changing your diet. I have learned that to get my body in shape takes a lot of hard work. It requires YEARS of hard work and a clean diet. My story is a story of real expectations. For someone looking to make real life changes, expect to devote your life to healthy living. Don’t expect unrealistic results and don’t give up!

Our neighborhood boot camp lead by Kelvin

Stefan

In regards to the Boot Camp training on Saturday mornings:

Kelvin has been an outstanding trainer by leading a small group of neighbors in a “boot camp” style workout. He consistently comes to our neighborhood at 6:30AM every Saturday morning, bringing all types of simple workout equipment, and leads a group of 4 – 7 neighbors and friends for an hour of circuit exercises and boxing/kicking drills. He’s highly focused on the needs of each participant and works them accordingly to their level, yet pushes each of us to reach a higher level of fitness and strength. He demonstrates the proper exercise form intended to work specific areas of the body and is quick to correct improper form which could result in injuries.

I appreciate the variety of exercises Kelvin brings. Although many of the same muscle groups are worked it always seems that there are new exercises thrown into the mix on a weekly basis. Kelvin also has a great sense of humor and good sense of insight which makes it both fun and interesting before, during and after the work out. It seems that the hour of “boot camp” passes by quickly. I would highly recommend Kelvin as a trainer and would also recommend to anyone to attend our neighborhood boot camp lead by Kelvin.